A rare Western Cattle Egret and friend | Bubulcus ibis | Héron garde-boeufs in Prince Edward County

            On November 24, 2024 I was proceeding north at speed on County Road 24 through Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada when I saw a small herd of cows. I glanced over and gave them a quick pro forma check for a Cattle Egret as I passed by. I've been doing this for years and years, never with any success. 

Although Cattle Egrets are very rare hereabouts (they are a tropical to semi-tropical species), they do have a pattern of late fall incursions into southern Ontario from the USA. So, when I saw a small, bright white, angular shape on the ground amidst the cows I decelerated rapidly, pulled over, and backed up. There it was ... a Cattle Egret! A great birding moment after imagining the encounter for so long. 

As noted, Cattle Egret are pretty rare in Canada but they do sometimes show up in November, which is a bit odd for a warm weather bird. When they do appear, they are often seen associating with cattle (hence the name) and feeding on the insects that the cows stir up. So what is going on?

Cattle Egret are not native to our continent, but arrived in South America from Africa in the 1870s, probably carried across the ocean on hurricane winds. They did well and by the early 1950s reached North America, where they have thrived in the warmer south, but not so much in colder Canada. Perhaps the birds are still carrying an Africa navigation chart in their DNA that tells them to head north in November to find better habitat in their old home. Unfortunately, this program is suboptimal here, sending them north into freezing temperatures. Hopefully the bird will reorient itself. In the meantime it seems it found a new friend.

Taken in: Canada / Ontario / Cove Beach (show map)

Taken on: November 1, 2024

Tags:

Western Cattle Egret

Bubulcus ibis

Prince Edward County

Ontario

Canada

Bird

birding

birds

birdwatching

Nature

Oiseau

Wildlife

Rare

Rare Bird

Canon EOS 90D

EF600mm f/4L IS III USM

Cow

Cattle « less

Sets appears in: • Prince Edward County

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Camera: Canon EOS 90D, f/4.0, 1/2500 sec, 600mm, ISO 1000 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 90D
Lens:	EF600mm f/4L IS III USM
Aperture:	f/4.0
Exposure Time:	1/2500 sec
Focal Length:	600mm
ISO:	1000
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 14.0.1 (Macintosh)
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